The poster for the 2015 French Open was unveiled on Dec. 18, Thursday, at a ceremony attended by China's ambassador to France, Zhai Jun, as the artwork is by 53-year-old Chinese artist Du Zhenjun.
The Roland-Garros 2015 poster is the first-ever French Open poster by a Chinese artist in the 35-year history of the prestigious Grand Slam tournament.
While Du is originally from China, he relocated to France at the beginning of the 1990s and first received recognition for his "Etre humain trop lourd" ("Too heavy a human") exhibition, which was featured in the program of the 2003 Paris Autumn Festival (Conciergerie category).
Since 1980, artists have been selected for the honor of creating a French Open poster through the Galerie Lelong art gallery, and although Du is not listed on the gallery's roster in the week of the unveiling, Yoko Ono is included, as well as fellow Chinese artist Lin Tianmiao.
During his early years in China, Du studied traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy at the school of fine art in Shanghai, where he was born. After graduating in 1986, he discovered Western art concepts such as abstract painting during a five-year teaching stint. After his European migration in 1991, he first settled in Bordeaux, followed by his current home in Paris. Du continued his studies in France and graduated from the Rennes School of Fine Arts in 1998.
At Thursday's event, French Tennis Federation (FFT) president Jean Gachassin praised the highly trained artist: "We are honored to have invited a well-known Chinese artist to design the 2015 poster. . . . It's a work of art coming from the collision of two cultures."